Page 10 of The Royal Engagement

He tugs me forward again and I forget all about wedding plans, color schemes, and our fighting mothers.

4

SCANDALOUSLY SHORT

Should holding hands with the guy I’m engaged to make me nervous? Because itdoes.

I try to consider the emotions and the butterflies. It’s not like this is the first time Damek has held my hand—he’skissedme before. But this is the first time we’ve done anything intimate since we got ‘engaged.’

It’s still weird to call Damek my fiancé, and even weirder to be engaged without having anybody ask to marry me.

Succubi love big, showy engagements. Usually, when a succubus is getting engaged, there is a party involved, with lots of people coming to watch it happen. I’ve never liked the idea of having a party like that—it ruins the surprise. But Idowant to be asked. I want a guy that I love to get down on one knee a propose marriage. I want a ring… something I don’t have. Vampires aren’t big on engagement rings. They typically only wear them after marriage.

“Are you cold?” Damek asks as he opens the passenger side door of his car for me.

I shake my head. “No. It’s nice tonight.”

As a hybrid, I feel the temperatures—most vampires don’t. It’s inconvenient considering my father’s clan lives where it getsvery cold in the winter and we are up at night. I don’t even have the sun to help warm me. When I first came, it was the middle of winter and it was cold. Now that spring has come, it’s not quite as cold at night.

When Damek starts the car, I see that the temperature is forty-seven. Maybe it is still cold, but I’ve gotten used to it. Or maybe forty-seven doesn’t seem that cold considering it was single digits when I first came.

“Have you talked to your grandpa since he left?” Damek asks as he drives the car toward town.

“Uh, no. He doesn’t talk to me hardly ever. I was surprised when he came with my mom.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “Though, I shouldn’t be surprised. Succubi and incubi make a big deal out of engagement and marriage. There are always celebrations leading up to the wedding. And I am the first of my cousins to get married.”

“None of your other cousins are married?” He sounds surprised.

“No. But I’m one of the oldest. My uncle has a son who is a few months older than me.” I turn in my seat so that I can face him. “He’s been dating a girl for a couple of years, but I imagine he won’t get engaged for a while yet. The rest of my cousins aren’t mature enough for marriage yet.”

Damek frowns. “It’s strange that succubi and incubi date for so long before getting engaged. Vampires are typically together for a couple of months before getting married.”

That is why our having a six-month engagement is such a big deal. Scandalously short for a succubus and long for a vampire.

“I think six months is a good amount of time,” I say in hopes that Damek feels the same.

Damek grins, his eyes meeting mine for a second before he looks back at the road. “Yes, I agree. Six months is perfect for us.”

With his right hand, he reaches across the center console. He holds my hand, lacing our fingers together. This time, it doesn’t feel as uncomfortable.

Since the moment I met Damek, he’s made me very comfortable. We’ve never had to fumble through awkward conversations, so I’m not sure why I thought it would be weird now that we’re engaged.

I think back to all the days we stayed up late, talking on the phone. We never seemed to run out of things to say.

“What are we going to do about our moms?” I relax into the seat, getting more comfortable.

“Let them fight it out,” Damek suggests.

I laugh, shaking my head. “It was horrible. They were fighting over colors—your mom wants red and my mom wants pink.”

“Pink is your favorite color,” he says.

My eyes widen in surprise. “How do you know?”

“You told me once, but it’s also obvious. You always wear pink.” He shrugs like it’s not a big deal. But itisa big deal. I’m not sure that I know what his favorite color is.

“You’re right. But I don’t want our wedding to be pink.”

“Red is tradition for vampires, which is probably why my mother mentioned it. But we don’t have to follow tradition—we wouldn’t even be the first to break tradition. In the last ten years or so, vampires have strayed from tradition,” he says. “So we can do whatever you want.”

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